JP7392725B2 - Negotiation systems, negotiation methods and negotiation programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a negotiation system, a negotiation method, and a negotiation program that automatically negotiate terms and conditions between an ordering side and an ordering side.

In recent years, an international competition called the International Automated Negotiating Agents Competition (ANAC) has been held at prestigious international academic conferences, and expectations for automated negotiating agent technology are increasing. An automatic negotiation agent is a technology that automates negotiations performed by humans, and uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) to generate draft agreement terms and decide whether to accept or reject them. Various methods have been proposed to realize this.

Patent Document 1 describes an automatic negotiation system that automatically negotiates with other systems. The automatic negotiation system described in Patent Document 1 uses a demand utility function that represents a change in a supplier's profit/loss with respect to a change in the demand quantity of a consumer from a standard, and a demand utility function that represents a change in a supplier's profit/loss with respect to a change in the total demand quantity from a standard. Target candidates are determined in automatic negotiations with consumers based on the summation results with the supply utility function that represents changes in profit and loss.

Further, Patent Document 2 describes an estimate response method that receives an estimate request via the Internet or the like and automatically responds. The method described in Patent Document 2 maintains an estimation DB (database) that serves as the basis for price estimation, and a correction DB whose settings can be changed according to the timing of product development for which an estimate is requested, and allows the user to conduct business negotiations. When the outline and required specifications are submitted, a quotation is created, and the price and delivery date are corrected to the created quotation.

International Publication No. 2018/070419 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-015892

On the other hand, when negotiating to adjust conditions such as delivery date, quantity, and price between the ordering party and the ordering party, the ordering party uses information such as its own production capacity and production plan to It is necessary to judge whether the proposed conditions are acceptable.

When negotiating, the receiving party hopes to receive an order with higher value. In other words, the order receiving side is looking for an automatic negotiation agent that can compare the value of an existing order with the value of a new order and negotiate with the ordering side so that the order with higher value is accepted. Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not describe any technology that provides the order receiving side with an opportunity to receive orders of higher value.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a negotiation system, a negotiation method, and a negotiation program that can provide the order-receiving side with an opportunity to accept orders of higher value.

The negotiation system according to the present invention includes a determination unit that determines whether execution conditions corresponding to an existing order from the ordering side can be changed; The planning unit includes a planning unit that creates an order plan for execution conditions according to the execution conditions after changing the execution conditions determined to be changeable, and a utility calculation unit that calculates the utility based on the order plan . The department generates multiple execution conditions by varying the values within the interval at predetermined intervals for each execution condition determined to be changeable, and formulates multiple order plans for each of the generated execution conditions. It is characterized by

The negotiation method according to the present invention is a negotiation method executed by a negotiation system, in which the negotiation system determines whether the execution conditions according to an existing order from the ordering party can be changed, and An order acceptance plan for execution conditions corresponding to new orders and execution conditions corresponding to existing orders is created after changing the execution conditions determined to be changeable, and the utility based on the order acceptance plan is calculated. , is characterized by generating multiple execution conditions by varying the values within the interval at predetermined intervals for each execution condition determined to be changeable, and formulating multiple order plans for each of the generated execution conditions. shall be.

The negotiation program according to the present invention allows a computer to change the execution conditions according to an existing order from the ordering party that represents a request for the provision of any product or service to the ordering party that provides any product or service. Judgment process to determine whether or not the order plan is executed based on the execution conditions for new orders from the ordering side and the execution conditions for existing orders, after changing the execution conditions determined to be changeable. This is a negotiation program for executing a planning process to formulate a plan and a calculation process to calculate utility based on an order plan, in which a value within an interval is predetermined for each execution condition determined to be changeable in the planning process. The present invention is characterized in that a plurality of execution conditions are generated by changing the execution conditions at a certain interval, and a plurality of order acceptance plans are drawn up for each of the generated execution conditions .

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide the order receiving side with an opportunity to receive an order of higher value.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of a negotiation system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a parameter file. It is an explanatory diagram showing an example of BOM/BOP. It is an explanatory view showing an example of setup change time. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of displaying negotiation candidates. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen for inputting negotiation conditions. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation of an automatic negotiation system. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of a negotiation system according to the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of a negotiation system according to the present invention. The automatic negotiation system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an ordering side negotiation system 100 and an ordering side negotiation system 200.

In the ordering side negotiation system 100, a subject side (hereinafter simply referred to as the ordering side) that presents an order expressing a request for the provision of arbitrary goods or services, and a subject side providing arbitrary goods or services (hereinafter simply referred to as the ordering side) This is a system for negotiating the conditions for placing an order with the On the other hand, the order-receiving side negotiation system 200 is a system that presents negotiation candidates based on the negotiation conditions presented by the ordering side and taking into consideration the conditions for accepting the order. In the order-receiving side negotiation system 200 of this embodiment, negotiation candidates (negotiation solution candidates) are created on the order-receiving side through batch processing, and during negotiation, negotiations are conducted with the ordering side based on the created negotiation candidates.

Furthermore, the order-receiving side negotiation system 200 of the present embodiment provides the order-receiving side with an opportunity to receive orders of relatively high value by lowering the priority of orders of relatively low value.

The buyer's negotiation system 200 includes a negotiation condition receiving section 210, a negotiation candidate creation section 220, a negotiation candidate storage section 230, a negotiation candidate transmission section 240, and a negotiation candidate management section 250.

The negotiation condition receiving unit 210 receives the negotiation conditions of the ordering side from the ordering side negotiation system 100. In this embodiment, receiving the negotiation conditions from the ordering side corresponds to receiving an order from the ordering side. Negotiation conditions include requests from the ordering party, such as delivery dates and costs.

The negotiation candidate creation unit 220 creates negotiation candidates for the order receiving side in response to the order from the ordering side, and stores them in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230, which will be described later. Note that an order from the ordering side can be said to be a set of conditions representing the requests of the ordering side. The negotiation candidate creation unit 220 includes a planning unit 221 , a utility calculation unit 222 , a negotiation candidate registration unit 223 , and a determination unit 224 .

The planning unit 221 creates an order plan for execution conditions according to orders from the ordering side. The order from the ordering party corresponds to the execution conditions required by the ordering party.

Then, based on the order, the planning unit 221 generates a plurality of execution conditions based on the following method, and formulates an order plan for each of the generated execution conditions. For example, the planning unit 221 sets an interval for each required condition in a parameter file, creates a plurality of execution conditions by varying the values within the interval at predetermined intervals, and executes each created execution condition. You may also create an order plan based on the conditions. Conditions to be set include delivery date, quantity, price, etc.

For example, if L is the number of candidates whose delivery conditions have been relaxed (delivery date extension), M is the number of candidates whose quantity conditions have been relaxed (quantity reduction), and N is the number of candidates whose price conditions have been relaxed (price increase). , the planning unit 221 may generate execution conditions using L×M×N combinations.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a parameter file. The parameter file illustrated in FIG. 2 defines initial values and intervals of parameters to be varied (perturbed). For example, the start and end of the quantity condition (PERTURB_DELTA_QUANTITY) are set to "-50" and "50", respectively, indicating that the varying interval is 5.

A first method for generating execution conditions is to use beam search. In beam search, only one axis value representing conditions is varied in one search. The axes that can be varied, the maximum width of the values to be varied, and the increments of the values to be varied may be determined in advance according to the contents of the axes (conditions).

A second method for generating execution conditions is to use grid search. Grid search is a method of trying all possible combinations of parameters (axes) and searching for the set of parameters with the highest evaluation. The parameter variation method may be the same as the beam search described above, or the values of a plurality of axes may be varied simultaneously.

A third method for generating execution conditions is to combine beam search and grid search. In this case, first, the values of the axes other than the axis to be varied are fixed, and a search is performed by varying only one axis (corresponding to a beam search). It then searches for the maximum or minimum point, and then gradually decreases the step size. When this method is used, it is possible to generate execution conditions with a certain level of accuracy even if the process is interrupted midway.

A fourth method for generating execution conditions is to stochastically search for candidates that have not yet been tried among execution conditions that have been generated in the past. This method can be said to be similar to simulated annealing and genetic algorithm.

A fifth method for generating execution conditions includes a method of estimating the bias in the distribution from the history of past execution conditions and generating detailed candidates according to the bias. This method can be said to be similar to the acquisition function in Bayesian optimization.

Note that the planning unit 221 can use any method to create an order plan based on the execution conditions. The planning unit 221 may create an order plan by creating an optimal production schedule using, for example, mixed integer programming (MIP).

Further, the planning unit 221 may formulate an optimal order plan by operating a production model (for example, a factory model) on a simulator using an external script. For example, when performing optimization using a genetic algorithm, the planning unit 221 may call the optimization module after setting coefficients and constraints of the objective function. For example, when performing Bayesian optimization, the planning unit 221 may similarly set the coefficients and constraints of the objective function, and then call the simulation execution process for obtaining the evaluation value.

When formulating an order plan, the planning unit 221 may draw up an order plan within the scope of resources that can receive orders at the present time, and as will be described later, the planning unit 221 may formulate an order plan within the range of resources that can receive orders at the present time, and as will be described later, it may You may draw up a plan.

Furthermore, the planning unit 221 may divide one order into multiple orders and create an order plan.
For example, the planning unit 221 may divide one order in terms of quantity and formulate an order plan.

In addition, the planning unit 221 has parts composition information (also called BOM (Bill of Materials)/BOP (Bill of Process)) for manufacturing products, and uses the parts composition information to plan the parts composition. It may be prepared at the same time as the order planning. The plan regarding the parts configuration is, for example, a parts manufacturing plan or a parts purchasing plan.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of BOM/BOP. Figure 3 shows that the manufacturing of product A consists of an SMT process, a tester process, and a packing process. FIG. 3 also shows that the SMT process can be performed on either a macSMT1 machine, a macSMT2 machine, or a macSMT3 machine.

Also, in Figure 3, the time it takes to execute the SMT process on the macSMT1 machine is 147 seconds, the time it takes to execute the SMT process on the macSMT2 machine is 200 seconds, and the time it takes to execute the SMT process on the macSMT3 machine is 221 seconds. It is defined that

In addition, the planning unit 221 takes into consideration the setup change time, which is the time required to change the products to be worked on on the same line, and draws up an order plan so that the total time of the setup change time is minimized. Good too. The setup change time is defined as f (previous work on the same line, next work on the same line) using a function f, for example.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of setup change time. FIG. 4 shows that, for example, when the work target product is switched from product B to product A on the macSMT1 machine, that is, it takes 2100 seconds to change the setup from product B to product A.

Note that resources such as personnel are required to execute the setup change. Further, there may be a restriction such that the number of manufacturing apparatuses that can simultaneously perform setup changes is up to N (N is a natural number of 2 or more).

Therefore, the planning unit 221 may calculate the setup change time so that the resources used for the setup change do not exceed the upper limit. For example, if the number of manufacturing devices that are to perform setup changes at the same time exceeds N, the planning unit 221 causes the manufacturing devices that exceed N to execute setup changes after the setup changes by other manufacturing devices are completed. If it is executed, the setup changeover time may be calculated.

Further, the setup changes that each person can execute are limited depending on the skills each person has. For example, worker P1 can execute a setup change from product B to product A, but cannot execute a setup change from product B to product X. Further, worker P2 can execute a setup change from product B to product X, but cannot execute a setup change from product B to product A.

Therefore, the planning unit 221 may calculate the setup change time based on the definition of the skills possessed by each person.

The utility calculation unit 222 calculates utility based on the order plan. Specifically, the utility calculation unit 222 calculates the utility using a utility function that calculates the degree of desirability of the order recipient with respect to the order plan. The utility function is expressed, for example, by Equation 1 illustrated below.

In Equation 1, p _i is the price (selling price) of item i, and the higher the price, the greater the utility. Further, λ∈R ⁺ is a hyperparameter, x _i indicates the fine of case i, l _i indicates the production completion time of case i, and d _i indicates the delivery date of case i. That is, l _i -d _i indicates the delivery time violation time. This indicates that the longer the delivery date passes, the lower the utility becomes. Furthermore, c _i represents the direct material cost per item of item i, and v _i represents the quantity of item i, and as this value increases, the production cost increases and the utility decreases.

In addition, m _j indicates the operating cost per second of machine j, and t _j indicates the total operating time (seconds) of machine j. As this value increases, the cost required for operation increases, so the utility decreases. κ is a weight specified by the user, φ is the retention cost per item per second in the buffer, and b _k indicates the average number of items retained per second in the buffer k. This is because the more products that are retained, the more it costs, so the larger this value is, the lower the utility is.

Furthermore, θ represents the maximum retention cost per buffer, and h _k represents the maximum retention amount of buffer k. As this value increases, the cost of the buffer increases, and thus the utility decreases. In addition, ρ is the cost per second of machine free time, g _j is the free time (seconds) of machine j, and as this value increases, the loss due to the machine not being in operation occurs, so the utility is descend. In addition, η _j is the start-up cost per day for machine j, and s _j is the number of days in which machine j is used. As this value increases, the cost required to use the machine increases, so the utility is descend.

Note that Equation 1 described above is an example of a utility function, and its contents can be arbitrary as long as it is a function that can evaluate the desirability of the order receiving side with respect to the order receiving plan. For example, a utility function may be used in which only the terms to be considered are selected from among the terms included in Equation 1 described above.

The negotiation candidate registration unit 223 creates execution conditions as a premise of an order acceptance plan regarding an order from an ordering side as a negotiation candidate. Further, the negotiation candidate registration unit 223 registers the created negotiation candidate in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230 in association with the utility calculated based on the order plan. Since these execution conditions are candidates to be presented in negotiations with the ordering party, they can be called negotiation candidates. As a result, the execution conditions and the utilities are associated with each other, making it easier to compare the utilities between the execution conditions.

The determining unit 224 has a function of determining whether an existing order can be rescheduled. Specifically, the determination unit 224 determines whether the execution conditions according to the existing order from the ordering side can be changed.

For example, when receiving a new order, the determination unit 224 determines whether the delivery date indicated by the execution conditions corresponding to the existing order can be extended. As a specific example, the determination unit 224 determines whether the delivery date indicated by the execution condition corresponding to the existing order is set earlier than the delivery date specified by the ordering party.

If the delivery date indicated by the execution conditions for an existing order is set earlier than the delivery date specified by the ordering party due to reasons such as the ordering party voluntarily setting the execution conditions earlier, the determination unit 224 determines whether the execution conditions are set earlier than the delivery date specified by the ordering party. It is determined that the indicated delivery date can be extended.

Further, when receiving a new order, the determination unit 224 determines whether the order quantity indicated by the execution conditions corresponding to the existing order can be reduced. As a specific example, the determination unit 224 determines whether the order quantity indicated by the execution condition corresponding to the existing order is set to be larger than the order quantity specified by the ordering side.

If the order quantity indicated by the execution conditions corresponding to an existing order is set to be larger than the order quantity specified by the ordering party due to reasons such as the order receiving party voluntarily setting the execution condition to a large value, the determination unit 224 determines whether the execution condition It is determined that the order quantity indicated by can be reduced.

Further, if the order receiving side has a contract with the ordering party that will incur a penalty if the execution conditions corresponding to an existing order are changed, the determination unit 224 determines that more execution conditions can be changed. As an example of setting a penalty, if the delivery of the product is delayed by one day from the delivery date specified by the ordering party, a setting may be considered in which the ordering party pays 1% of the price to the ordering party.

If the ordering party is in a contract in which the ordering party is subject to a penalty, the determination unit 224 determines whether the execution conditions are correct even if the delivery date indicated by the execution conditions corresponding to the existing order is set as the delivery date specified by the ordering party. It is determined that the delivery date indicated by can be extended.

Further, even if the order quantity indicated by the execution condition corresponding to an existing order is set as the order quantity specified by the ordering side, the determination unit 224 can reduce the order quantity indicated by the execution condition. It is determined that

The determination unit 224 also includes cancellation of the existing order itself as an option. That is, the determining unit 224 also determines whether the execution condition corresponding to the existing order can be deleted.

Hereinafter, a case will be considered as an example in which the determining unit 224 receives a new order for product X and determines that the execution conditions of the orders for products A, B, and C among the existing orders can be changed.

If it is determined that each execution condition for orders for products A, B, and C can be changed, the planning unit 221 treats the orders for products A, B, and C as manipulated variables, and changes the execution conditions for orders for products A, B, and C. An order plan for the case where an order for product X is received is drawn up again, including the resources planned in the order.

The planning unit 221 creates order plans for products A, B, and C when the order execution conditions are changed. That is, the planning unit 221 changes the order acceptance plan for the execution conditions according to a new order from the ordering side and the execution conditions according to an existing order, after changing the execution conditions determined to be changeable. Plan.

Next, the utility calculation unit 222 calculates the utility based on the re-designed order plan. Next, the negotiation candidate registration unit 223 registers the execution conditions on which the re-designed order plan is based as a negotiation candidate in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230 in association with the utility calculated based on the order plan.

In addition, in the case where the ordering party is in a contract in which the ordering party is subject to a penalty as described above, the utility calculation unit 222 integrates the utility based on the re-drawn order plan and the utility corresponding to the penalty due to the change in execution conditions. Calculate the utility of the entire order plan.

If the execution conditions for a new order are better for the order recipient than the execution conditions for an existing order, the planning unit 221 can formulate an order acceptance plan with higher utility. In other words, the order-receiving side negotiation system 200 prevents the order-receiving side from losing an order that is more preferable to the order-receiving side.

Further, if a change flag indicating whether or not each order including an existing order can be changed can be recorded in the drafted order plan, the determination unit 224 determines whether or not each order including an existing order can be changed. It may be determined that the execution conditions can be changed. Further, the determining unit 224 may determine that the execution conditions corresponding to an existing order for which consent for change has been obtained from the ordering side can be changed.

The negotiation candidate storage unit 230 stores a plurality of negotiation candidates (that is, combinations of execution conditions and utility). Negotiation candidate storage unit 230 is realized by, for example, a magnetic disk.

The negotiation candidate transmission section 240 transmits the negotiation candidates corresponding to the received negotiation conditions (order) stored in the negotiation candidate storage section 230 to the ordering side. For example, when negotiation candidates based on execution conditions that match the negotiation conditions are stored in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230, the negotiation candidate transmission unit 240 transmits the negotiation candidate with the greatest utility to the ordering side among the negotiation candidates. You may. For example, if negotiation candidates based on execution conditions that match the negotiation conditions are not stored in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230, the negotiation candidate transmission unit 240 selects negotiation candidates based on execution conditions that match many negotiation conditions. Negotiation candidates for order plans with greater utility may be given priority and sent to the ordering side.

Negotiation candidate management section 250 manages negotiation candidates stored in negotiation candidate storage section 230. The negotiation candidate management section 250 includes a negotiation candidate display section 251 and a negotiation candidate update section 252.

The negotiation candidate display section 251 displays negotiation candidates stored in the negotiation candidate storage section 230. For example, the negotiation candidate display section 251 may display only negotiation candidates that meet specified conditions. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of negotiation candidates. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the negotiation candidate display unit 251 displays a list in which delivery date, quantity, selling price (yen), utility value, and profit (yen) are associated with each other as negotiation candidates for the product whose product name is "X". is displayed.

Further, the negotiation candidate display section 251 may display details of the corresponding order plan for realizing the negotiation candidate. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the negotiation candidate display unit 251 presses a button B1 that instructs a transition to a screen that displays a graph (for example, a Gantt chart of a manufacturing line operation plan) showing an order plan for each negotiation candidate. may be provided to display more detailed information.

The negotiation candidate update unit 252 updates the contents of the negotiation candidates stored in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230. For example, the negotiation candidate updating unit 252 may delete negotiation candidates that are determined to be inappropriate based on a user's instruction.

The negotiation condition receiving section 210, the negotiation candidate creation section 220 (more specifically, the planning section 221, the utility calculation section 222, the negotiation candidate registration section 223, and the determination section 224), the negotiation candidate transmission section 240, The candidate management unit 250 (more specifically, the negotiation candidate display unit 251 and the negotiation candidate update unit 252) is a computer processor (for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc.) that operates according to a program (negotiation program). )) is realized.

For example, the program is stored in a storage unit (not shown) included in the order-side negotiation system 200, and the processor reads the program and, according to the program, the negotiation condition receiving unit 210, negotiation candidate creation unit 220 (more specifically, planning unit 221, utility calculation unit 222, negotiation candidate registration unit 223, determination unit 224), negotiation candidate transmission unit 240, and negotiation candidate management unit 250 (more specifically, negotiation candidate display unit 251, negotiation candidate update unit 252). Further, the functions of the order-receiving side negotiation system 200 may be provided in a SaaS (Software as a Service) format.

The negotiation condition receiving section 210, the negotiation candidate creation section 220 (more specifically, the planning section 221, the utility calculation section 222, the negotiation candidate registration section 223, and the determination section 224), the negotiation candidate transmission section 240, The candidate management section 250 (more specifically, the negotiation candidate display section 251 and the negotiation candidate update section 252) may each be realized by dedicated hardware. Also, some or all of the components of each device may be realized by general-purpose or dedicated circuitry, processors, etc., or a combination thereof. These may be configured by a single chip or multiple chips connected via a bus. A part or all of each component of each device may be realized by a combination of the circuits and the like described above and a program.

Further, in the case where a part or all of each component of the order-receiving side negotiation system 200 is realized by a plurality of information processing devices, circuits, etc., the plurality of information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be centrally arranged. , may be distributed. For example, information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be realized as a client server system, a cloud computing system, or the like, in which each is connected via a communication network.

The ordering side negotiation system 100 includes a negotiation condition input section 110, a negotiation condition transmission section 120, a negotiation candidate reception section 130, and a result display section 140.

The negotiation condition input unit 110 receives input of various negotiation conditions from the ordering side. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen for inputting negotiation conditions. The example shown in FIG. 6 shows a screen for inputting negotiation conditions to be disclosed to the other party (order receiving side) and negotiation conditions not to be disclosed to the other party. Negotiation conditions that are not disclosed to the other party are used, for example, when automatically determining whether or not to agree to negotiation candidates presented by the order recipient.

The negotiation condition transmitting unit 120 transmits the input negotiation conditions to the receiving side negotiation system 200. For example, among the negotiation conditions illustrated in FIG. 6, the negotiation condition transmitting unit 120 may transmit only the negotiation conditions to be disclosed to the other party.

The negotiation candidate receiving unit 130 receives negotiation candidates for the transmitted negotiation conditions from the order-receiving side negotiation system 200. The negotiation candidate receiving unit 130 may determine whether or not the negotiation candidate satisfies predetermined criteria, and if the negotiation candidate satisfies the criteria, may automatically transmit an agreement to the order-receiving side negotiation system 200. . For example, when receiving the buy-it-now price with the negotiation conditions illustrated in FIG. 6 as a negotiation candidate, the negotiation candidate receiving unit 130 may transmit a message to the receiving side negotiation system 200 that there is an agreement.

Note that the conditions for determining whether there is agreement or not are not limited to the prices illustrated in FIG. 6 . For example, if the ordering side also determines in advance a utility function for calculating the degree of desirability of the ordering side, and the negotiation candidate receiving unit 130 calculates the utility based on the utility function, if the utility exceeds a predetermined threshold value, It may be determined that there is an agreement.

The result display unit 140 displays the contents of the received negotiation candidates. Further, when negotiations are automatically conducted, the result display section 140 may display the details of the successful negotiations.

Next, the operation of the negotiation system of this embodiment will be explained. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the automatic negotiation system 10 (order side negotiation system 200) of this embodiment.

First, the planning unit 221 of the order-receiving side negotiation system 200 creates an order plan with respect to execution conditions according to the order from the ordering side (step S11). The utility calculation unit 222 calculates the utility based on the drafted order plan (step S12). The negotiation candidate registration unit 223 registers the execution conditions on which the order plan is based as a negotiation candidate in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230 in association with the utility calculated based on the order plan (step S13).

Thereafter, the negotiation conditions input into the negotiation condition input section 110 of the ordering side negotiation system 100 are transmitted by the negotiation condition transmitting section 120, and the negotiation condition receiving section 210 receives a new negotiation from the ordering side (the ordering side negotiation system 100). Conditions are received (step S14).

Next, the determination unit 224 determines whether the existing order can be rescheduled (step S15). Next, the planning unit 221 changes each execution condition of the order that is determined to be reschedulable, and then draws up an order plan again for the execution conditions according to the order from the ordering side (step S16). . Next, the utility calculation unit 222 calculates the utility based on the re-designed order plan (step S17).

The negotiation candidate registration unit 223 registers the execution conditions on which the re-designed order plan is based as a negotiation candidate in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230 in association with the utility calculated based on the order plan (step S18).

The negotiation candidate transmitting unit 240 transmits the received negotiation conditions to the ordering side, giving priority to the negotiation candidates with greater utility among the negotiation candidates stored in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230 (step S19). Then, the negotiation candidate receiving unit 130 of the ordering side negotiation system 100 receives the transmitted negotiation candidates.

As described above, in this embodiment, the planning unit 221 formulates an order plan based on the execution conditions according to the order from the ordering side, and the utility calculation unit 222 calculates the utility based on the order plan and calculates the negotiation candidate. The registration unit 223 registers the execution conditions on which the order plan is based as a negotiation candidate in the negotiation candidate storage unit 230 in association with the utility calculated based on the order plan. Then, the negotiation candidate transmitting section 240 transmits the received negotiation conditions to the ordering side, giving priority to the negotiation candidates with greater utility among the negotiation candidates stored in the negotiation candidate storage section 230.

Further, when receiving a new order, the determining unit 224 determines whether it is possible to reschedule an existing order. The planning unit 221 changes each execution condition of the order that has been determined to be reschedulable and then draws up the order plan again. By drawing up the order plan again, the planning unit 221 can reallocate the resources allocated to relatively low-value orders to high-value orders. That is, the order-receiving side negotiation system 200 of this embodiment can provide the order-receiving side with an opportunity to receive an order of higher value even when available resources are limited.

Next, an outline of the present invention will be explained. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an overview of the negotiation system according to the present invention. A negotiation system 20 according to the present invention (for example, an order-receiving side negotiation system 200) is a negotiation system that negotiates with an ordering side that presents an order representing a request for provision of an arbitrary product or service to an ordering side that provides an arbitrary product or service. A determining unit 21 (e.g., determining unit 224) that determines whether the execution conditions according to an existing order from the ordering side can be changed, and an execution condition corresponding to a new order from the ordering side. A planning unit 22 (e.g., planning unit 221) that creates an order plan for execution conditions according to conditions and existing orders by changing the execution conditions determined to be changeable; A utility calculation unit 23 (for example, a utility calculation unit 222) that calculates the utility based on the utility calculation unit 222 is provided.

With such a configuration, the negotiation system can provide the order-taking side with an opportunity to receive an order of higher value.

The negotiation system 20 also includes a negotiation candidate creation unit (e.g., negotiation candidate creation unit 220) that creates execution conditions as a premise of an order plan regarding an order from the ordering side as a negotiation candidate, and a negotiation candidate creation unit (for example, a negotiation candidate creation unit 220) that It may also include a negotiation candidate transmission section (for example, negotiation candidate transmission section 240) that transmits priority to the ordering side from the negotiation candidates of the order plan.

With such a configuration, the negotiation system can provide the order-taking side with an opportunity to receive an order of higher value.

Further, the determination unit 21 may determine whether the delivery date indicated by the execution conditions according to the existing order can be extended. Further, the determination unit 21 may determine whether the order quantity indicated by the execution conditions according to the existing order can be reduced. The execution conditions may include delivery date, quantity, and price. Further, the determination unit 21 may determine whether the execution condition corresponding to an existing order can be deleted.

Further, the determining unit 21 may determine that the execution conditions corresponding to an existing order for which a change flag is set can be changed. Further, the determining unit 21 may determine that the execution conditions according to an existing order for which consent for change has been obtained from the ordering side can be changed.

Such a configuration allows the negotiation system to modify existing orders that are modifiable.

Part or all of the above embodiments may be described as in the following additional notes, but are not limited to the following.

(Additional note 1) A negotiation system that negotiates with an ordering party that presents an order representing a request for the provision of any product or service to an ordering party that provides any product or service, and in which the system negotiates with an ordering party that presents an order representing a request for the provision of any product or service. a determination unit that determines whether or not the execution conditions that have been set can be changed; and a determination unit that determines whether the order plan for the execution conditions according to a new order from the ordering side and the execution conditions according to an existing order can be changed. What is claimed is: 1. A negotiation system comprising: a planning unit that creates a plan after changing executed conditions; and a utility calculation unit that calculates utility based on the order plan.

(Additional note 2) A negotiation candidate creation unit that creates execution conditions as a premise of an order plan regarding an order from the ordering side as a negotiation candidate, and for the order, prioritize the negotiation candidates of the order plan that have a large utility. The negotiation system according to supplementary note 1, comprising a negotiation candidate transmission unit that transmits the negotiation candidates to the other side.

(Supplementary note 3) The negotiation system according to supplementary note 1 or 2, wherein the determination unit determines whether the delivery date indicated by the execution conditions according to an existing order can be extended.

(Supplementary Note 4) The negotiation system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 3, wherein the determination unit determines whether the order quantity indicated by the execution conditions according to the existing order can be reduced.

(Supplementary Note 5) The negotiation system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4, wherein the determination unit determines whether an execution condition according to an existing order can be deleted.

(Supplementary Note 6) The negotiation system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 5, wherein the determination unit determines that execution conditions according to an existing order for which a change flag is set can be changed.

(Additional note 7) The determination unit determines that it is possible to change the execution conditions according to an existing order for which consent for the change has been obtained from the ordering party. system.

(Supplementary Note 8) The negotiation system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 7, wherein the planning unit generates a plurality of execution conditions based on an order and formulates an order acceptance plan for each of the generated execution conditions.

(Additional Note 9) The planning unit generates multiple execution conditions by varying the values within the interval at predetermined intervals for each required condition, and formulates an order plan for each of the generated execution conditions. Negotiation system according to any one of appendix 8.

(Supplementary Note 10) The negotiation system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 9, wherein the utility calculation unit calculates the utility using a utility function that calculates the degree of favorability of the order recipient with respect to the order plan.

(Supplementary Note 11) The negotiation system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 10, wherein the planning unit formulates an optimal order plan by processing using a simulator using an optimization engine.

(Supplementary Note 12) The negotiation system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 11, wherein the execution conditions include delivery date, quantity, and price.

(Additional note 13) A negotiation method executed in a negotiation system in which negotiations are carried out with an ordering party that presents an order representing a request for the provision of any product or service to an ordering party that provides any product or service, the ordering party Determine whether the execution conditions according to the existing order from the ordering side can be changed, and change the execution conditions according to the new order from the ordering side and the order acceptance plan for the execution conditions according to the existing order. A negotiation method characterized in that the execution conditions determined to be possible are changed and then a plan is formulated, and the utility is calculated based on the order acceptance plan.

(Additional note 14) A supplementary note to create execution conditions as a premise of the order plan regarding the order from the ordering side as a negotiation candidate, and send it to the ordering side with priority given to the negotiation candidates of the order plan with greater utility for the order. Negotiation method described in 13.

(Additional note 15) Whether or not it is possible to change the execution conditions according to an existing order from an ordering party that represents a request for the provision of said arbitrary product or service to the ordering party that provides the arbitrary product or service to the computer. A judgment process for determining the execution conditions, and an order plan for the execution conditions according to the new order from the ordering side and the execution conditions according to the existing order, are created after changing the execution conditions determined to be changeable. and a negotiation program for executing a planning process for calculating the utility based on the order plan.

(Additional Note 16) A creation process is performed in which the execution conditions that are the premise of the order plan regarding the order from the ordering side are created as negotiation candidates in the computer, and the negotiation candidates of the order plan with greater utility are prioritized for the order. The negotiation program according to supplementary note 15, which causes the transmission process to be transmitted to the ordering side.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The configuration and details of the present invention can be modified in various ways that can be understood by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention.

Possibility of industrial use

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is suitably applied to an ordering support method or negotiation method that efficiently automates or semi-automates negotiations regarding delivery dates, quantities, prices, etc. between an ordering side and an ordering side.

10 Automatic negotiation system 20 Negotiation system 21, 224 Judgment unit 22, 221 Planning unit 23, 222 Utility calculation unit 100 Ordering side negotiation system 110 Negotiation condition input unit 120 Negotiation condition transmission unit 130 Negotiation candidate reception unit 140 Result display unit 200 Order acceptance Side negotiation system 210 Negotiation condition receiving unit 220 Negotiation candidate creation unit 223 Negotiation candidate registration unit 230 Negotiation candidate storage unit 240 Negotiation candidate transmission unit 250 Negotiation candidate management unit 251 Negotiation candidate display unit 252 Negotiation candidate update unit

Claims (10)

a determination unit that determines whether execution conditions according to an existing order from the ordering side can be changed;
a planning unit that creates an order acceptance plan for execution conditions according to a new order from the ordering side and execution conditions according to the existing order, after changing the execution conditions determined to be changeable;
Equipped with a utility calculation unit that calculates utility based on the order plan ,
The planning department includes:
For each execution condition determined to be changeable, the value within the interval is varied at predetermined intervals to generate multiple execution conditions,
Create multiple order plans for each execution condition generated
A negotiation system characterized by: a negotiation candidate registration unit that creates execution conditions as a premise of an order plan regarding orders from the ordering side as negotiation candidates;
2. The negotiation system according to claim 1, further comprising a negotiation candidate transmission unit that transmits the order to the ordering side, giving priority to the negotiation candidates of the order receiving plan that have a large utility. 3. The negotiation system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether the delivery date indicated by the execution conditions according to the existing order can be extended. The negotiation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determination unit determines whether the order quantity indicated by the execution conditions according to the existing order can be reduced. The negotiation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination unit determines whether an execution condition corresponding to an existing order can be deleted. The negotiation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determination unit determines that execution conditions according to an existing order for which a change flag is set can be changed. A negotiation method carried out in a negotiation system, comprising:
The negotiation system is
Determine whether the execution conditions according to the existing order from the ordering side can be changed,
Creating an order acceptance plan for execution conditions according to a new order from the ordering side and execution conditions according to the existing order, after changing the execution conditions determined to be changeable,
Calculate the utility based on the order plan,
For each execution condition determined to be changeable, the value within the interval is varied at predetermined intervals to generate multiple execution conditions,
A negotiation method characterized by drawing up multiple order plans for each of the generated execution conditions. The negotiation system
Create execution conditions as a premise for the order plan regarding orders from the ordering side as negotiation candidates,
8. The negotiation method according to claim 7, wherein the order is transmitted to the ordering side with priority given to the negotiation candidates of the order plan that have a large utility. to the computer,
a determination process for determining whether execution conditions can be changed in response to an existing order from an ordering party that represents a request to an ordering party to provide any product or service;
a planning process for creating an order acceptance plan for execution conditions according to a new order from the ordering side and execution conditions according to the existing order, after changing the execution conditions determined to be changeable;
A negotiation program for executing a calculation process to calculate utility based on an order plan ,
In the planning process,
For each execution condition determined to be changeable, the value within the interval is varied at predetermined intervals to generate multiple execution conditions,
Create multiple order plans for each execution condition generated
negotiation program . to the computer,
A creation process that creates execution conditions that are the premise of an order plan regarding an order from the ordering side as a negotiation candidate, and a transmission process that sends the order to the ordering side, giving priority to the negotiation candidates of the order plan that have a large utility for the order. The negotiation program according to claim 9.

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